I2 by Maurice Mentjens

Taking cues from its location – a bank in Frankfurt, the skyscraper-rich financial centre of Germany – Dutch designer Maurice Mentjens fashions a ‘vault’ to house I2’s treasures.

‘Clothing and shoes are more valuable than money for many fashion-conscious women,’ says Mentjens. ‘The idea therefore emerged to design the shop as a bank vault, with valuable goods kept safely behind steel bars.’

Vaults imply impenetrability, but Mentjens’ concept translates to a light, open interior – despite the ‘cage’ that defines it. Typical clothing rails are broken up by the cage’s vertical poles, giving each piece on display room to breathe.

A reflective display case in the centre of the room houses the crown jewels: the collection’s crème de la crème. The ‘treasure chamber’ is the work of Patrick Baden, a product and jewellery design graduate from the Academy of Fine Arts in Maastricht whose portfolio includes limited-edition designer safes, produced by Carus.